“You mean the attempted murder charge? We’re still waiting to hear back from the CPS on that. I’m afraid these things often take longer than we’d like them to. At this rate we’ll be in court before we get a response, and what a jolly fiasco that would turn out to be.”

Marcy was aware of Claudia watching her curiously, clearly wondering why she was asking. She hadn’t discussed this with anyone yet, but her mind was made up, and perhaps this was as good a time as any to tell them what she’d decided. “I think he should stand trial,” she said to Helen.

Helen’s surprise showed, as did everyone else’s.

“You mean for attempted murder?” Andee asked.

Marcy nodded. “Yes. Please will you tell him that I want him to stand trial for attempted murder.”

Chapter Forty-Five

It came as a big surprise to me when Dan requested a visit—I mean the kind of visit you usually get from mates or family, not the kind we usually have. I hadn’t been expecting to see him again until we went to court, and I wasn’t even sure if he’d be there then.

I can’t tell you how chuffed I was when the request came through, and by the time the day comes round I’m so pumped I can hardly wait to see him. I’m all prepared to give him my news (I don’t have any), and to tell him that next time he should come for a sleepover. Then I get to the visiting room, and talk about gobsmacked! Claudia’s only sitting there with him. I don’t get it at all, why would she come and see me?

When they get round to dropping the bombshell—that you want me to stand trial for trying to murder you—so much stuff spins round in my head, really bad stuff that I’m proper ashamed of now. But man, I was gutted. I swear I hadn’t seen it coming. Even though I hadn’t heard anything from you I never thought you still hated me. I thought we’d moved on from that, but then I realized that the reason you hadn’t wiped the floor with me during our visit was because you’d decided on another way of doing it.